Billowing Ashes
by Stephy825
Summary: Revisit 50 titles with new -more angsty?-  moments, new experiences but the same old pair that we all love. Sequel to Pyrus 'n Ventus anyone?
1. Seesaw

**A/N: **Heck yeah I'm back people! For those who didn't read Pyrus 'n Ventus, it's okay. They're not really related to each other anyway. These are all just one-shots, after all. For those who were my reviewers and readers before, I hope to see you again in this story! Please? Anyway, review afterwards?

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><p>1. Seesaw<p>

Life is often a teetering seesaw. It has its ups and downs and never seems to stop in one place. For Shun, his life is definitely a teetering seesaw...

He just wasn't sure whether his own seat was up or down on today.

"Welcome, freshmen!" a voice bellowed at the stage where a kind of large man was behind the podium with a smile. "Today is officially your first day..." the teen sighed as he placed his elbow on the armrest of the chair he was sitting on; gazing sleepily at the lit stage with his batch mates surrounding him. He tried his best not to look too sleepy or even yawn for he thought that it would be rude, but the others couldn't care less. Some were even slouching on their cushioned seats; taking a nap while others were closing and opening their eyes every few seconds.

Orientation was always such a bore. High school apparently wasn't as different as grade school in this. The nervousness he had felt a while ago faded for now; most of his classmates though didn't seem bothered by the new change. Maybe he was over thinking things again; maybe high school wasn't as bad as it sounds.

Still, it would be hard to visit Dan as often as he habitually did now that they were in two very different levels.

At some point the incredibly long speech finally ended with that same creepy smile the principal wore as he exited the wooden platform. All students inside moved out in a slightly orderly line with its usual silent chatter and people stretching. "That was the longest two hours of my life, don't 'cha agree?" one of his classmates told him while stifling a yawn. The teen nodded quietly as usual. "At least we won't have this again until next year." he replied.

"True. Hopefully high school has much more exciting things in store for us newbs."

Again, he nodded without a response.

The freshmen all walked out and returned to their classrooms to finally start the schedule they eventually should get used to. They were introduced to their adviser first and more teachers followed; everybody was just glad that there were no lessons as of yet. Before long, morning break had arrived; giving everyone a chance to wake up a little and talk with their friends like old times.

Only this time it seemed that Shun had to get through the day without the hyperactive brunette...or so he assumed. "Shun!" a familiar voice called to him. The teen spun around to where the sound came from; shocked to hear it now of all times. _Where is he?_

"Over here!" the voice called again. The ninja finally located his weird friend on the fence; gripping the top as if his life depended on it. The metal fence was pretty high to begin with and supposedly hard to climb because it only had smooth vertical bars, but somehow his friend was able to accomplish climbing it...his problem now was that he couldn't pull himself over.

"What are you doing here?" the teen asked; his tone was filled with concern and something along the lines of _'you shouldn't be here, idiot!'_

"Trying to see what high school is like?" he replied with a toothy grin. Shun groaned and mentally face-palmed as he approached the brunette that was still perched on the top of the cylinder shaped top. "How did you even get up there?"

"Simple, I made my own seesaw!" the younger boy answered matter-of-factly. As he said, there was a thick board below him with a container at the other side and a fulcrum (a triangle-thing) below the board. How he was able to accomplish this by himself he didn't know, but he got there; and that's what mattered now, he guessed. "So how are you planning on getting down?"

There was a small pause. "Honestly I didn't think it would work." he grinned sheepishly. "Can you help me, please?"

Shun sighed. Without saying anything, he jumped in to a nearby branch and then on the metal fence. His sense of balance was amazing; the teen didn't even waver even on the thin circular surface. Moving carefully, he picked up his friend and helped him down before jumping back to the other side. "Thanks! I have to get going now though; it's almost time."

"Whatever. Just don't do anything that reckless again, understand me?" the brunette nodded. "Okay!"

_For Shun, life is definitely a teetering seesaw...a seesaw with not only himself on it, but with another._


	2. Contradiction

**A/N: **Okay, first of all, GOMEN NASAI ;A; I'm sorry this took nearly a month to update! It wasn't supposed to be that long, but thinking up something for the word 'Contradiction' is just that hard, okay? I promise, from here, the updates will come by faster (unless I hit another dead end again *sigh*)

And I also apologize for this being a little shorter than the rest (by 'rest' I mean by the previous story too.) Yeah, I should really stop rambling; go ahead and read. Review too, please. It gives me more motivation to write.

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><p>2. Contradiction<p>

_"Contradiction (n) - a declaration of the opposite or contrary; the act of going against; opposition; denial"_ -thefreedictionary

For Shun, lessons are starting to finally roll in; he could've sworn that everyone in his class groaned when the teacher introduced it to them. Their few moments of freedom are gone, and now class was just another ordinary, painful day to most of the students. Shun didn't bother anymore, he just hoped that the day would pass by and all that. For now, high school was the same as grade school.

On second thought, he didn't want the day to pass too quickly; lately there's something strange going on with his grandfather. By strange, he meant his actions around him. The old man always had this dominant and feared aura around him, but now, they were quiet; almost observant. The ninja didn't want to figure out why he was this way, but whatever the reason, he knew that he was involved. And that it can't be good.

As the lecture drew to a close, Shun sighed deeply, closed the textbook he had in front of him, and placed it in his bag before lying down. The worrying thoughts tired him; he assumed that he was over analyzing things...but still...there was something about his grandfather's glare that just got him on edge. His instincts screamed at him to be careful; wary.

He groaned. "I wish Skyress were here..." he muttered softly as he closed his eyes to rest.

-o-

"Shun, there you are!" Dan didn't bother stopping and lightly crashed in to him; snapping the teen out of his trail of thought. The brunette smiled that he was successful in doing so, as he hated seeing his friend troubled. "Seriously, Dan, you need to control your energy." he told him in a scolding tone. All the younger boy could do was grin back as if the message didn't come across, but it did, and he knew full well what he was doing.

"You want me to stop being me, even if you're the one that said I should be who I am no matter what? Isn't that some kind of contradiction?" the new word that he spouted out almost made Shun froze entirely. "_Contradiction_? Really, Dan? When did you start using that?"

"Uuuh...since I heard it on TV."

"And you have no idea what it means, don't you?"

He smiled sheepishly. "Not really." the older male did a light face-palm. "You can't just say random words you're not even sure of, that's stupid."

"But, still, it is a contradiction, right?"

Shun turned away; avoiding the gaze Dan was giving him. "You're so annoying."

The brunette pouted. "And you seem out of tune today, anything wrong?"

"For one thing, I have a best friend that keeps on speaking random phrases and words I never thought he would say."

"You know that's not what I'm talking about. Seriously, Shun, what's wrong?" before he could even say a word, the bell rang, signaling them to go back to class. Said teen didn't know whether to be relieved or something else; in all honesty he didn't even know what he was worrying about in the first place; it would be weird to tell Dan something that could be false. Yet, isn't that what friends are for? To hear him out when he needed someone to talk to? No, he'll go at this alone; the least he wanted was to get Dan involved in his own problems again, just like last time...

-o-

"I'm home." Shun called as he closed the door behind him. He wondered why he habitually said that even if often no one was home; his grandfather was occasionally out training, or maybe in the backyard. But today was different, someone actually responded. "Shun, come here. Now." it was the old man, and already the black-haired male tensed; his fists clenched. Without hesitation, he placed his backpack down nearby the doorstep and silently headed towards the living room where the voice came from. "Yes, grandfather?"

"We need to talk." and from there, everything just went downhill.


	3. Reflection

**A/N: **Err, yeah, quickie update. I still feel sorry for not updating any sooner, and I'm stuck in a writer's block rut so...yeah.

If you read the ending of the prequel _Pyrus 'n Ventus_, you would probably know the ending of this story too, but well, can't help but hope, right? I'm gonna tell you now: the entire story of Billowing Ashes is following one timeline; a timeline that stretches from when Shun enters freshman year until...well, you know. Anyway, I'll stop stalling. Go ahead and read the next short-ish chapter. And don't forget to review!

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><p>3. Reflection<p>

The Sunday morning routine went on as usual: waking up, trying to fall asleep again, mentally slapping himself awake, getting out of bed and staggering to the bathroom, shower, dry, brush, wash face, put on his clothes, fix his hair a little, go downstairs, greet his grandfather, eat breakfast, and then finally going out of the house and inhaling the fresh early morning air. Shun just hated being cooped up in the house sometimes, and what happened the few nights before made him want to get away from his old man even more. The teen needed some time to think over what he said-no, warned was the better term. He sighed to himself as he glanced at his own right hand; staring at it with a frown. "Am I really not good enough?" he mumbled softly.

First came warm ups, then drills (yes, they were different from warm ups), then training. The old, usual training. It's been over three months since his grandfather stopped coaching him; teaching him anything new. He was still urged to continue practicing until perfection, and Shun was fully convinced that he did as well as his grandfather could, maybe even better. Still, he wasn't complaining. No new moves equals to more time to focus on his studies, and some time to rest and just hang out. He found it strange that it was almost like a requirement for him to at least kick back for even a few minutes every day. "Dan must really be rubbing off of me." he grumbled; realizing this didn't pick up his spirits much.

He turned his attention on one of the big trees nearby and jumped; smoothly landing on one of its thicker branches before heading to the roof; nearly missing his mark. He cursed silently as he made another jump to the highest point of his house, and from there, he had a nice view of the entire city and the mountains far away. _The mountains that grandfather threatened to send me if I stop messing around._

The teen scowled. "_Messing around_? The _nerve_ of him! I-I don't...I would never do such a thing..." his voice trailed off; his fist clenched and positioned firmly on his chest. "...I'm not, right, mom?" he shook his head vigorously; trying to snap himself out. _Training; need to do training first._

With a sigh, Shun proceeded to jump down to the huge garden; soon touching the soft grass. He then began to walk towards the other gate that lead to a large forest before he stopped in front of something he normally didn't look at. "That's right...grandfather told me to feed the koi today." turning around, he headed towards the nearby shed and took out a small plastic bag that had hundreds of colorful circle shaped pellets inside. The black-haired male then walked back to the fish pond and took out a handful of food. "Time to eat." he threw the pellets in the air before they scattered around the small body of water; the large orange and white fish moving around quickly to get as much food as they could.

He couldn't help but smile at the peaceful scene; the morning was quiet; serene. He wished he could just stay like this forever.

The teen gazed at the water; the ripples coming and going because of the fish underwater, but when the koi went deeper in, the disturbances disappeared and revealed a clear reflection of him. A reflection of him with that peaceful smile; yet, the expression soon faded and was replaced with a frown.

_"If you continue the lifestyle you are living now, grandson, you will never become a great ninja. I've been silent this entire time, but no more. It was then I decided I will give you a test to see if you are truly qualified to be my heir. The near end of your year in school is the time we shall fight. If you fail to defeat me, I will send you to the mountains for you to train harder. If you win, I will no longer burden you with my teachings and you are free to do as you wish. You will not refuse, and you will not run from it. Understand?"_

All he saw in the pond was a boy that was denying the inevitable.

"_Yes, grandfather."_


	4. Video Games

4. Video Games

_Life ain't no videogame_

_'Cuz there isn't a reset button_

_Life hurts more than fantasy_

_And there's no way to turn it off_

_-o-_

_No such thing as constant battles_

_Monsters don't come out of nowhere_

_You ain't the hero of the story_

_You're just a boy on your own_

_-o-_

_Explosions aren't daily_

_Wounds always hurt_

_Fighting ain't great_

_Why even make it real?_

_-o-_

_Life ain't no videogame_

_So stop trying to act like it is_

_'Cuz while life isn't a videogame_

_It's the biggest game in your life_

_And you ain't getting a second chance_

"...Mr. Kuso, I asked for you to find a poem that talk about one's conflicts. Where did _this_ come from?"

"Err...nowhere..." said brunette replied softly while blushing from embarrassment. "I...made it myself. Mom banned me from the computer, so..." he heard his classmates chuckling as he mentioned his predicament, and the teacher couldn't do anything but sigh. "You could've just used the library if you couldn't print one at home."

"But what if I don't want to go to the library? And I spent all night racking my brain to make this!"

The teacher sighed again as she walked towards the boy. "Give me your paper."

"You're not going to fail me, are you?" surprisingly for him, she shook his head. "I can give you some points for trying to make a poem all by yourself. Especially from you of all people." the woman then took the paper off of his hands; her smile disappearing as soon as it came. "You may go back to your seat."

"O-okay." As he headed back, most of the people he passed by were either hiding their laughter or showing him a thumbs up. Once he got back to his desk, he laid his head down and didn't bother listening to the other people that were called.

_Sucks to be called first._

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><p><strong>AN: **Just wanted to make a chapter in Dan's perspective this time. I only realized now that the past three chapters were Shun-centric. o_O I can't ignore our younger Pyrus brawler, now can I?

Zio: If you have read the previous story, you would've noticed that there were no Bakugan there either. This story is entirely focused on the time before New Vestroia, so basically they're stuck in the thinking of "The Bakugan are back in their own dimensions and everything goes back to normal and blah blah blah." In a nutshell: Post 1st season. :U


	5. Secret

5. Secret

Ever since he's been friends with Shun, he always had a secret locked in him. Dan knew that he shouldn't pry, especially because some of his secrets are really important to him (so was the life of a ninja). There are times though when his curiosity gets to him, and there are times when said older boy will finally tell him some things. But there are sometimes when Dan truly wanted to know what was going on...because sometimes his secrets are so big, they include probably his entire life as he knew it, and that also meant him.

Dan was worried about his best friend acting almost too quiet that day. "Something bothering you, Shun?" he asked with a concerned tone. He didn't reply as if he was in a trance, and when he repeated his question, he still didn't say anything. A little impatient, he went behind him, grabbed his shoulders and shook him. _Hard._ The teen yelled in surprised as he swiftly slapped the brunette's hands away from him. When he realized that it was just his annoying friend, he relaxed a little and muttered an apology. "Sorry, I was just..."

"Spacing out." the younger boy finished. "A little too much, I think. Something wrong?"

"Nothing for you to be worried about." he answered almost too quickly. He then turned and was about to walk away before Dan grabbed his collar and held him back. "Seriously, Shun, you know how much I hate being in the dark. Now _what's wrong_?"

"..." he expected a response, yet instead, the ravenette simply pried off his grip and left. The brunette clenched his fists as he couldn't help but feel angry at him. _Why won't he tell me? Is it so bad that if I knew, I'm going to mess it up?_

-o-

For the rest of the school day, whenever they crossed paths, Shun would just avoid his gaze and continue walking until they passed each other. Dan couldn't help but turn around and watch him leave without another word. As the hours passed, so did his anxiety. He hated not knowing anything. He knew that he was butting in to other people's business, but this was his best friend. He needed to know...because normally his secrets aren't just those usual tiny ones. No, they were much bigger than that. That's what got the boy so fired up to figure out what was going on.

It was soon dismissal, and everyone was rapidly leaving the building with only a few students left staying for practice or more studying. Dan was one of the first to get out since he ran all the way down so there was no chance of missing Shun. Waiting and leaning at one of the huge trees nearby the entrance gate of the school, he soon spotted him and hid. The brunette was planning on tailing him no matter how risky it was. It was obvious that he was heading back to his house, but he just wanted to make sure. And who knows, maybe he'll spill his secret along the way...that's what said boy was hoping for.

As soon as he went pass the white open gate, he tiptoed along trying not to look conspicuous and attempted to by as quiet as possible (for him, anyway). It wasn't before long until they both reached the park, and the teen then took a seat on a lone bench. There was no one around as it was late afternoon and it was a Tuesday (or a busy school day). As Dan was peeking from a thick trunk, the first thing he took note was Shun's depressed look on his face; something he didn't see a while ago when he was pressing him for answers.

He sighed. "What should I do..? I can't just tell him that I like her..."

Now that made the brunette almost lose his cover. _Him_? _Her_? _Who_?

"But I...I can't leave her, either." out of the blue, the ninja heard a rustle behind him. It was faint, and so he presumed it was just an animal or something. What he didn't know was that Dan had run off after he heard his previous sentence...blushing like mad at the startling discovery he had just learned.

_I can't believe it..! Shun...Shun actually...has a girlfriend!_

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><p><strong>AN: **...no comment.

Just review. I wanna hear your thoughts on this. :3


	6. Telling

6. Telling

"Oh my god, oh my god, what do I do? Shun has a girlfriend! A _girlfriend_! And I'm not supposed to know! What the heck do I do?" the brunette mumbled to himself as his fingers trembled violently. He was slumped on his desk and covering his panicked expression with his arms, thinking of any other possibilities on what his friend said to himself could mean. Yet no matter which way he saw it, the only thing that came to mind was that the ninja had a crush on someone.

He wasn't sure how to react, so he was still in the shocked state even after a day. The boy decided to try and calm down and figure out who this mysterious girl was. It didn't hit him that his panicking would be pretty obvious to the rest of the class, and while some glanced at him with worried faces, it was only Miku, a classmate of his, that actually asked him what was wrong.

Dan hesitated. "Well, uhm, it's kinda complicated..."

"Why? Does it have to do with your friend?"

"Shun? Uh...yeah, it does." realizing that he might feel better if he told someone, he gestured the blond-haired girl to lean closer to him so that he can whisper what he had been concerned about all day. His classmate's eyes widened. "_No. Way._ You're lying."

"I won't lie about something like this, y'know. Why the heck would I ever tell anyone that Shun had a girlfriend? That's like asking death to his fan club."

"True, but maybe you're just jumping in to conclusions. Wouldn't he tell you that he had a crush on someone..? He's your best friend, right?"

"He said it himself...that he couldn't tell me about this."

"Are you even sure that he's referring to you?"

"Sure I'm sure! Who else would he be talking about?" a small pause surrounded them, and before either them could say anything more, the bell rung, signaling it was classes again. "We'll discuss this later."

The brunette's face lit up. "You mean...we're gonna do it like old times?"

Miku couldn't help but smile back. "Yep. We're gonna play spy."

-o-

Shun had the chilly feeling of being watched ever since dismissal rolled in. Being a trained ninja, he always had that sort of sense about this, but he has been really edgy lately, so he simply pushed it away and thought it was him being paranoid. Anyway, it was almost winter now. The wind was starting to get a bit colder.

Moving swiftly past the crowds, the teen's mind was somewhat blank until he reached the same park he was in yesterday. Glancing around, he turned his attention to the bench and sat on it followed by a sigh. "If only he would let _this_ go. Just this once." he mumbled.

Unexpectedly, the ravenette heard rustling behind him; a loud noise that was impossible to miss. He was tempted to look, but he had a guess on what or who made that mistake, and he wanted to see why they were here in the first place. "I wonder if I should tell Dan?" he said, trying to lure his friend out. Sure enough, he could hear someone breathing harder behind him, and the noises came back, yet were faint. "_You'll blow our cover, you idiot!_" the teen could hear a girl's voice whispering. That caught him off guard. He knew that voice. "What the heck are you doing with Dan, Miku?"

Immediately after that, the brunette popped from the bushes with a shocked face. "You knew we were here?"

Said girl appeared right after her classmate with an equally surprised expression. "How did you know?"

Shun couldn't help but laugh. "You seriously think that I will miss all the ruckus you're making? You're forgetting who went through training to be a ninja. Anyway, mind answering my question?"

The blond also laughed, yet in a nervous manner. "Ahaha...you see, this was all Dan's idea-"

"_My_ idea?" he cut in. "You were the one that said we're gonna spy on Shun!"

"You were the one that said that Shun has a girlfriend!"

"I have _what_?" there was a long and awkward pause after that. Each of them had no idea what to say; all of their faces were beet red. "Oh, uh, I have to go back home. See ya, Dan." before the brunette could say anything, she sped off, leaving the two friends alone in an even more awkward moment. "Uhm, Shun...I..."

"Where did you get the idea of me having a girlfriend?" the older teen asked in a composed yet demanding tone which scared Dan like heck. He hesitated and couldn't find the words to answer him. "_Well_?" Shun asked again.

"I...well, I was worried, okay?" he muttered while twiddling with his fingers. "I tailed you to the park yesterday and...overheard...that you said you liked someone..."

Another long pause.

Which was then followed by a lot of laughter. "W-what's so funny?" the brunette was totally confused why his best friend found this hilarious.

"N-nothing..." he responded while trying to calm himself. The teen had to cover his mouth while trying to stifle his chuckles. "It's just; you've got it all wrong, Dan. I wasn't talking about a girl. My grandfather hates cats."

_'My grandfather hates cats.'_ the statement repeated in the brunette's head a few times. That lone sentence cleared up whatever he was talking about yesterday. "Wait, so, you...found a cat?"

"A kitten, yes. It could barely walk; I think it's less than a month old. I wanted to take it home, but my grandfather never really liked cats. I was trying to figure out what to do with it yesterday since I couldn't bring it anywhere else."

The younger boy was still in a state of shock. "You...I...ah, man, I...can't believe I freaked out over a little cat."

"That's what you get for eavesdropping, Dan_. Misunderstandings_. And besides, if I ever did have a crush on someone, I would've told you."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Shun smiled. "You kind of did the same thing with Runo."

The brunette blushed again. "R-right...please don't mention to anyone how I acted after that first date, alright? Anyway, I have a classmate that's been wanting a pet for some time already, so why don't you ask him about it?"

"I would rather if _you_ ask him."

"Oh, yeah, I will."

"Sure." the ravenette stood up and put his hands in his pants pocket. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow then."

"Okay." with that, the teen started to walk away, but then Dan stopped him by calling him again. "Shun?"

"Yeah?"

"Please don't keep any more secrets. I'm always here to help you out if you need it."

He smiled broadly. "No promises."

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><p><strong>AN: **About frickin' time I updated this! Thank **jazzmonkey **for reminding me. ;3 Think of it as your Christmas present, guys, though hopefully I'll be able to upload an actual Christmas fic later tonight.

Please review? And Merry Christmas!


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